The Mac App Store

The biggest advantage Apple has over Microsoft in the companies operating system battle is the Mac App Store. Unlike Microsoft, Apple offers Mac OS X users the chance to download both simple and sophisticated applications right from the platform. Speculation abounds that Windows 8 will come with that feature. But Windows 7 lacks it, putting that OS at a disadvantage.

Apple's Mac OS X "Lion" has been available for a little over a week, and already the operating system has performed well. According to Apple, in just its first day of availability, Apple sold 1 million copies of its latest operating system version. The excitement over Mac OS X Lion prior to its launch was palpable. Consumers and even some enterprise users were happy to see the addition of a host of new features, including Mission Control, LaunchPad and Resume. More importantly, they were pleased to get their hands on the operating system digitally, rather than being forced to head to the store to pick up the new OS. But now that Lion is available and consumers have had the chance to try it out, it's a good time to compare it to its chief competitor, Windows 7. Microsoft's operating system is wildly popular in its own right, and it delivers a host of improvements over Windows Vista. But there are some ways in which it falls short against Mac OS X Lion. Flip through the following slides to learn more about those shortcomings:

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.